Removable door construction for ovens



Feb; 175 1 970 M. w. MAI ER 3,495,582

I REMOVABLE noon CONSTRUCHON FOR qvEus 2 s eets-sheet 1 mm Ilai 17. 1968VV/V/////// Feb. 17, 1970 M. w. MAIER REMOVABLE DOOR CONSTRUCTION FOROVENS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 I F11e d May 17, 1968.

I I 0 I I I I u I United States Patent 3,495,582 REMOVABLE DOORCONSTRUCTION FOR OVENS Michael W. Maier, Beaver Dam, Wis., assignor toMalleable Iron Range Company, Beaver Dam, Wis., a corporation ofWisconsin Filed May 17, 1968, Ser. No. 730,133 Int. Cl. F24c /02 US. Cl.126-191 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The hinge means for the doorcomprises a hinge plate secured to the oven body, a stake, and a pivotconnecting the stake to the hinge plate. The hinge plate is located sothat the pivot is forwardly of the oven body and received within theconfines of the oven door. The oven door includes a box which fits overthe stake and can be removed by a freely sliding movement. The stake hasan arcuate portion which extends rearwardly into the oven body andcarries at its rear end a roller which bears 1 on a cam lever movablebetween a rearwardly extending position and an upwardly extendingposition. A spring biases the cam lever into the rearwardly extendingposition. The cam lever has two detents providing two stabilized doorpositions, one being a partially open door position and the other beinga fully open door position. A lug on the hinge plate interferes with alug on the box when the door is in its fully open position to preventremoval of the door from the hinge, but the lugs do not interfere witheach other when the door is in its partially open position.

This application relates to an improved removable door construction foroven ranges or the like.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide a removable oven door tofacilitate cleaning of the oven. In the customary oven door constructionthe two hinge members are in the form of a hinge plate, secured to theoven body, and a stake, associated with the oven door, the hinge platebeing so placed that the pivot point is disposed forwardly of the ovenbody and located within the confines of the oven door which is ofsubstantial thickness. The stake includes an arcuate portion whichextends into the wall of the oven body and is connected to a doorclosing spring.

The stake is telescopically received within a box carried by the door topermit removal of the door.

In order to prevent removal of the door when in its fully openedposition, interlocking lugs are provided on the telescopic members, thatis the stake and the box. It is very difficult to disengage theinterlocking lugs when the door is in fully opened position for thereason that the door closing spring urges the lugs into interlockedposition.

It has previously been proposed to provide a detent mechanism, inconnection with the door closing spring, for maintaining the oven doorin a partially opened or broil position. The prior art arrangementsutilize this detent arrangement to neutralize the spring so' that thedoor and the box may be manipulated, when in partially opened position,with respect to the stake which is now free from any spring bias.

However, it has been found that the average housewife encountersconsiderable difiiculty in mastering this manipulative technique.Manipulation of the door involves the possibility that the stake will bedislodged from the critical position by the manipulations, in whichevent either the interlocking lugs cannot be disengaged, or if they havealready become disengaged, the subsequent removal of the door will causethe stakes to snap back 3,495,582 Patented Feb. 17, 1970 to the fullyclosed position. When the door has been removed, the stakes cannot beretracted to the detent position without some tool to provide leverage.

As a result, it has been found that even though ovens are equipped withthe removable door feature, some housewives, after one or twounsuccessful attempts to use the same, make little further use of it.

A further difiiculty with this prior art arrangement is that it isnecessary to rely solely on the door Weight to maintain the door in itsfully opened position. If a detent were provided, then the door could beremoved in this position also, which is the situation that the use ofthe interlocking telescopic members is intended to avoid.

According to my invention I provide interlocking means between the doorand the oven body which is operative only when the door is in its fullyopened position. This accomplishes the objective of preventing doorremoval when it is fully opened. It also permits me to provide a seconddetent position which is operative when the door is in its fully openedposition, thus providing a more positive door action.

This arrangement also permits me to eliminate the interlocking lugswhich are the cause of difliculties outlined above. Therefore, the dooris very easily removed when in the partially opened position merely bypulling it upwardly off of the stakes, and without resorting to anymanipulation.

Furthermore, I have found that as a practical matter there is notendency for the door to separate itself from the stakes in any positionother than the detent stabilized position, unless it is intentionallyyanked, because removal is resisted by the friction between the springbiased stake and the box.

Therefore, I have provided an exceedingly simple and eflectiveconstruction which permits the door to be removed without manipulationwhen in the partially opened position, but which positively locks thedoor against removal when in the fully open position, and additionally,I am enabled to provide a detent for the fully open position.

Other objects, features and advantages will become apparent as thedescription proceeds.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a front elevation of an oven range, with portions broken awayto show portions of the hinge mechanism;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of the hinge mechanism taken along line 22 ofFIG. 1;

FIGS. 3 and 4 are side elevations of the hinge mechanism with the ovendoor in broken lines, and showing a changed position of the parts fromthe position shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is a front elevation of the box located within a the confines ofthe oven door, a portion of the oven door being shown in section;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the box;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the hinge plate and stake;.

FIG. 9 is a horizontal section taken along line 99 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a modified stake.

In FIG. 1, the range 10 has an oven cavity 11 and an oven door 12,partially broken away. The side wall of the oven is hollow, providing aspace 14 in which a portion of the hinge mechanism is located. The hingemechanism is duplicated on the left side of the oven, and is not shown,since it is the same as the right hand hinge mechanism which is shown,except for right to left reversal.

As shown in FIG. 8, the hinge mechanism includes a hinge plate 15 and astake 18 which are connected to each other by a pivot 19. The hingeplate 15 includes tabs 16 by means of which it can be welded or screwedto the inner surface of the front panel 17 of the range body. The hingeplate includes a forwardly and down- Wardly projecting arm 20 whichlocates the pivot 19 at a point forwardly of the oven body, and withinthe confines of the oven door 12, as shown in FIG. 2.

The stake 18 includes an arcuate portion 21 which extends rearwardlythrough a slot, not shown, in the front body panel 17 and into the space14. The inner and lower end of the arcuate portion 21 carries a roller22 which rides on the under surface of a cam lever 23. The cam lever 23is piovtally mounted on the hinge plate 15 by a pivot pin 24. A stud 25on the cam lever provides a mounting for one end of an operating spring26, the rear end being connected to an anchor flange 27 forming a partof the range structure.

In operation as the oven door 12, which is removably mounted on thestake 18, is swung from the fully closed position of FIG. 2 into an openposition, the cam lever 23 is swung upwardly as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4,against the tension of the operating spring 26. This arrangementregulates the force exerted by the spring in accordance with the angularposition of the oven door, as pointed out in my Patent No. 2,731,011granted Jan. 17, 1956.

The cam lever 23 is provided with a detent 28 corresponding to thepartially opened or broil position of the oven door, shown in FIG. 3,and with a second detent 29, corresponding to the fully open doorposition shown in FIG. 4.

The removable connection between the oven door and the hinge mechanismcomprises two telescopic members, the stake 18, and the box 30, whichreceives the stake. The box 30 forms a part of the oven door and islocated within same between the front and rear door panels 31 and 32, asshown in FIG. 2. The box is provided with tabs 33 by means of which itmay be welded to the rear panel 32. The panels 31 and 32 are providedwith bent overlapping margins which form the top, bottom and side edgesof the oven door, according to the usual practice. An opening 34 is madein the overlapping margins, through which the stake extends as the ovendoor is being removed or replaced. A similar opening 43, is provided inthe rear panel 32 to accommodate the arcuate portion 21 of the stake, aswell as the arm 20 of the hinge plate 15, as shown in FIG. 6.

The box 30 as shown in FIGS. and 7, comprises a narrow upper portion 35in which the inner dimensions correspond with the cross section of thestake 18 so that the stake is received within the narrow portion 35(FIG. 9) with a loose sliding fit, but no appreciable play. The lowerpart 36 of the box 30 is of greater width, and a sloping wall 37connects the narrow and wider portions and serves as a guide plate toguide the stake 18 into the narrow part 35 as the oven door is beingreplaced. The upper part 35 can conveniently be made in two pieces 38and 39, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, so that close control can be obtainedof the inner dimensions of the narrow part 35.

The box is provided at its lower part with an inwardly extending lug 40,as shown in FIGS. 5 and 7. A lug 41 is provided on the arm 20 of hingeplate 15, as shown in FIG. 8. The lugs 40 and 41 are so positioned,being substantially equidistant from the pivot 19, that when the door isin its fully opened position as shown in FIG. 4, the two lugs interferewith each other to prevent removal of the door, the lug 40 swingingupwardly behind the lug 41 and being blocked thereby. A comparison ofFIGS. 3 and 4 indicates that when the door is in its partially openedposition, as shown in FIG. 3, the door may be pulled upwardly off of thestake, because there is no interference; the lug 40 is not blocked bylug 41.

By the use of the lugs 40 and 41 it is possible to provide the seconddetent 29 for the fully opened door position. Without the lugs, thedetent 29 could not be used because it neutralizes the spring in thesame manner as the detent 28, and thus permits removal of the door whenthe spring is fully tensioned. The detent 29 also permits the use of aconstruction in which the door moment is completely counterbalanced bythe spring action, as contrasted with an arrangement in which the doormust overbalance the spring if the detent is not used.

In operation, the door is first moved to the FIG. 8 position, which is astable position due to the detent 28, and then the door is removed by anupward movement in the direction of the arrow 44. It is not necessary tomanipulate the door with respect to the stake because there is nointerlocking between the stake and the box. After the box is removed,the stakes will remain in the partially extended position while the ovenis being cleaned. If the stake should become dislodged, the pivot pin 24for the cam lever serves as a stop for the arcuate portion 21 of thestake, and thus prevents the stake from moving rearwardly intoengagement with the front panel 17 of the oven body. The distancebetween the upper end of the stake 18 and the front panel 17, as shownin FIG. 2, is sufficient to accommodate a finger, so that if the stakedoes snap back, its motion will be arrested at the position shown andthus prevent serious injury to a finger which would otherwise bepinched.

On replacing the oven door, it is merely lowered over the stakes 18until the stake seats itself against the upper edge of the box 30, afterwhich the oven door may be opened or closed in the usual manner.

It is easier to control the fit of the stake 18 within the upper part 35of the box 30 if the stake 18' is provided with lands 45 as shown inFIG. 10, thus maintaining relative freedom of removal while avoiding anyappreciable play.

Although only a preferred embodiment of my invention is shown herein, itwill be understood that various modifications and changes may be made inthe construction shown without departing from the scope of my invention,as pointed out by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A removable door construction for an oven comprising an oven bodydefining an oven cavity, a door for said oven cavity, hinge meansconnecting said oven door and said body, said oven door and said hingemeans having first and second telescopic members respectively forremovably mounting said oven door on said hinge means and movable withsaid door, said hinge means also including a stationary hinge platemounted on said oven body and a pivot connecting said hinge plate withsaid second telescopic member, a cam lever pivotally mounted on saidoven body and movable between an upright position and rearwardlyextending position, said second telescopic member including a rearwardlyextending portion, means mounted on said rearwardly extending portionand engaging said cam lever, spring means biasing said cam lever intosaid rearwardly extending position, a detent on said cam levercooperating with said lever engaging means to provide a partially openoven door position, and means for preventing removal of said oven doorfrom said second telescopic member when said oven door is in its fullyopened position, said means comprising a first lug on said firsttelescopic member and movable therewith, and a second lug on saidstationary hinge plate, said lugs being located for interference witheach other when said door is in its fully opened position, said firstlug being movable by the movement of said door from a normallynon-interfering position when said door is in said partially openposition into an interfering position when said door is moved into itsfully opened position.

2. A removable oven door construction as claimed in claim 1 in whichsaid telescopic members are free from interlocking portions so that saidoven door can be withdrawn from said second telescopic member by asimple sliding movement when said door is in said partially openposition.

3. A removable oven door construction as claimed in claim 1 in whichsaid cam lever has a second detent providing a fully open door position,said spring means and said cam lever providing a door closing momentwhich is greater than the moment provided by the weight of said doorwhen in fully open position.

4. A removable door construction for an oven comprising an oven bodydefining an oven cavity, a door for said oven cavity, hinge means forsaid door comprising a hinge plate secured to said oven body, a stake,and a pivot connecting said stake and said hinge plate, said oven doorincluding an elongate box structure receiving said stake, a cam leverpivotally mounted on said oven body and movable between an uprightposition and a rearwardly extending position, said stake including arearwardly extending portion, a roller mounted on said rearwardlyextending portion and engaging said cam lever, spring means biasing saidcam lever into said rearwardly extending position, a detent on said camlever cooperating with said roller to provide a partially open oven doorposition, and means for preventing removal of said oven door from saidstake when said oven door is in its fully opened position, said meanscomprising a first lug on said box structure located rearwardly of saidpivot when said door is in its fully closed position, and a second lugon said hinge plate located above said pivot and forwardly of said firstlug when said door is in its fully closed position, said lugs each beingsubstantially equidistant from said pivot so as to interfere with eachother when said door is in its fully opened position.

5. A removable door construction as claimed in claim 4 in which saidrearwardly extending stake portion is an arcuate portion extending intosaid oven body, said hinge plate including a forwardly and downwardlyextending portion, the lower end of which is located forwardly of saidoven body, said pivot being located at said lower end.

6. A removable door construction for an oven comprising an oven bodydefining an oven cavity, a door for said oven cavity, hinge meansconnecting said oven door and said body, said oven door and said hingemeans having first and second telescopic members respectively forremovably mounting said oven door on said hinge means and movable withsaid door, said hinge means also including a stationary hinge platemounted on said oven body and a pivot connecting said hinge plate withsaid second telescopic member, spring means biasing said door intoclosed position, first detent means providing a first stabilized doorposition corresponding to a partially open door position, second detentmeans providing a second stabilized door position corresponding to fullyopen door position, said telescopic members having a freely slidingmovement to permit removal of said door from said hinge means in saidfirst door stabilized position, and interfering means for preventingremoval of said oven door from said hinge means when said oven door isin its second stabilized position, said interfering means comprising afirst lug associated with said door and movable therewith, and astationary lug associated with said oven body, said first lug beingmovable by the movement of said door from a normally non-interferingposition when said door is in said partially open position into aninterfering position when said door is moved into its fully openedposition.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,731,011 1/1956 Maier 126l913,040,731 6/1962 Mudd 126191 3,090,375 5/1963 Nelson 126-194 3,150,6599/1964 Ellis et al. 126194 KENNETH W. SPRAGUE, Primary Examiner U .8.Cl. X.R. 126-194

